Pluristem Therapeutics Inc (PSTI)

[patentminer2013]

If they can get into revenue generating than the patents keep someone from trying to sell the exact same product. The drug business is pretty unique in terms of patents. Given how long it takes to get approval on any new drug other companies can't just come in and make a slight change to your drug and go sell it. So the patents do give around 17 years of protection. Here is their IP info from their website.

To protect these achievements, we have built a large portfolio of issued patents and pending patent applications that spans 23 patent families and 53 countries, including over 60 issued patents. The portfolio provides multi-level, extensive coverage of: Pluristem’s cells and pharmaceutical compositions containing them; therapeutic uses (second medical uses) thereof; manufacturing methods; and devices involved in the expansion and harvesting of adherent stromal cells and their subsequent controlled thawing after cryopreservation. Pluristem continues to file new patent applications at a rapid pace, designed to cover the ongoing and dynamic achievements of our Research and Development teams, and to provide exclusive patent rights for many years to come. We believe that this portfolio provides us with a significant commercial advantage in key markets, as we address major therapeutic unmet needs.